ATKINS THE SALMON AMD ITS ARTIFICIAL CULTURE. 235 



clear was the water that objects could be seen on the bottom at the 

 deepest point. In this pond it was proposed to keep the adult salmon. 



A smaller j)ond was made at the very mouth of the brook for tempo- 

 rary uses. To this point the salmon could be brought direct by water 

 from the weirs that are buiit about the mouth of the Penobscot. The 

 nearest salmon-weirs were those near the lower end of Wetmore Island? 

 (town of Verona,) and the salmon from these would have to be towed 

 through five miles of salt and brackish water to Orland Village, then up 

 Eastern River and across Allamoosook Pond, four miles more, to Craig's 

 Pond Brook, passing, on the way up the river, three locks. 

 [ The salmon were obtained from several weirs in Verona. They were 

 placed in a boat prepared for the purpose by piercing its bottom and 

 sides with auger-holes to provide a free circulation of water, ballasted 

 and buoyed to keep it at its proper level, covered with a net to prevent 

 the fish jumping out, and towed after another boat propelled by oars. 

 On the 7th day of June the first lot of salmon was brought to the works. 



Twelve were placed in the boat at starting, but eight died on the way, 

 and the remaining four were nearly dead. As there were only a dozen 

 inch-lioles in the bottom, it was thought that the poor success of the 

 first experiment was owing to the lack of pure water. Another trial 

 was made, with better ]>rovision for change of water. Seven salmon 

 were put into the boat, and four of them came safely to the pond. But 

 it was not until a hundred holes were made in the boat that the salmon 

 were brought without serious loss. On neither occasion did there ap- 

 pear to be any difficulty during the passage through the comparatively 

 cool waters of the river below Orland; but on coming into the warm 

 fresh water at the lock at Orland Village the bad effect of the imperfect 

 change of water became apparent. The improvement in the transport- 

 ing boat enabled us to convey, in some cases, as many as ten fish at a 

 time without losing any. 



The work of transporting continued until June 20, when it became 

 apparent that the arrangements for keeping the salmon were altogether 

 unsuitable. After being placed in the pond prepared for them in the 

 brook, the salmon never appeared to feel at home. They swam heed- 

 lessly about as if blind, often with parts of the fins out of water. In a 

 few days white blotches appeared upon the surface of the head and 

 back, and at last spread to the sides and lower parts. These blotches 

 were found to be caused by a kind of fungus growing beneath the scales 

 and pushing them from place, and before they had spread to all parts 

 of the body the fish commonlj^ died. Precisely what was the cause of 

 the disease I cannot even yet say ; but it must be sought among the 

 peculiar conditions under which the fish were placed. The temperature 

 of the pond ranged from 50° to 56°, while that of the rivers and streams 

 that salmon naturally frequent is, at that season, probably from 05° to 

 70°. The extraordinary transparency of the water may have had some 

 effect. Some of these fish, very badly afflicted, recovered when i)laced 



